A discussion with Ambassador Ali Javed, Additional Secretary for Africa at Pakistan’s Foreign Office, was held by IPS on February 9, 2021. Chaired by Chairman IPS Khalid Rahman, the session was held as part of the Institute’s ongoing ‘Understanding Africa’ project.
Emphasizing on the need and importance of strengthening Pakistan’s footprint in the African continent, the additional secretary stressed that Pakistan must appoint Honorary Consuls to all 54 African states as it has only 14 embassies and 9 operating honorary consuls in the whole African continent at present.
Stressing that relations with small African states must also be looked into, Javed lamented that this negligence has cost Pakistan both reach and dividends that could have easily been availed through a proactive approach. “Palau, for instance, sits beside Pakistan in the UN sessions, but we don’t have any diplomatic relations with them. Similarly, there are two groups of small island states, one having member states of the UN and the other comprising independent states which are not members of the UN. Unfortunately, we don’t have any diplomatic ties with any of them as well”, he rued.
Speaking on the importance of strengthening trade ties with African states, Javed stressed that the business community must be reached out for the purpose and people in the East African countries can be prioritized in this regard. Conferences and networking exercises could be held involving business people from both sides, and events like ‘Pak-Africa Friendship Day’ involving ambassadors from both regions can be arranged to enkindle interest in the business communities.
The additional secretary also highlighted the importance of strengthening people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and African countries maintaining that students from various African countries have not only studied and graduated from Pakistan but many also got the opportunity to study at the country’s Foreign Office Academy. He stressed that this valuable human resource could become ambassadors of Pakistan in the African land, bringing both regions closer and help build relations even with those countries which have not been reached out so far.
The use of Pakistani media platforms especially Pakistan Television (PTV) was also touched upon to project Pakistan’s narrative and induce interest within the African masses. Javed emphasised that stories of Pakistanis in Africa and vice versa and dramas and films highlighting issues with which youth of both regions can relate to is the need of the hour. For this, people with creative backgrounds from African countries and Pakistan must join hands so that the knowledge gap hindering both regions from achieving true potential of their bilateral and multilateral relations could be addressed, he added.
In addition, the additional secretary also urged to exploit the power of social media to send out our message of friendship and brotherhood to the African world.
